Friday, March 23, 2012

3 Artefacts

Pejeng-style Bronze Drum

It is a sacred relic to villagers in Bali. It is said to be used in rice cultivation rituals a long time ago.

1) The modern day drum is more used for entertainment means rather than cultural rituals. 2) Instead of being made out of entirely metal, in this case, bronze, modern drums use leather as the top skin of the drum and either wood or metal for the body.

Modern drummers also utilize a pair of drumsticks to knock against the drums, rather than using their hands or a giant ‘hammer’.

Northeastern Peninsular Malay Jewelry.

Worn by women of high statuses. Its function like how jewelry is being used nowadays. It is to look nicer and show the wealth or a status of a family.

The jewelry are usually made of gold, unlike those of today, which ranges from jade to diamond, gold to pearls.

The jewelry are more intricate than those of today. Most of today’s jewelry are just a small piece of diamond or pearl attached to a string or earring, while in the past, the jewelry are more intricate. They usually involve a lot of carving and colouring to finish it.

The jewelries use faceted granulation, which is uncommon in jewelry today.

Wooden ancestor carving

The carvings are found in houses all around Nias Island. They are placed in houses to remind the families of their deceased. It is also said that this is a container for the spirit of the deceased.

Today people use coffins to store the “spirit” and body of the deceased.

People use pictures or lockets nowadays as a memory of the deceased member of the family.